Children on the floors – drip nailed up

The Nasser hospital in southern Gaza is on the verge of breaking.

The influx of patients means that injured children have to lie on the floor. Nails on the walls hold up drip bags.

Hospital Nasser is described as the last major functioning hospital in southern Gaza.

After the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of areas around the city of Khan Yunis a few days ago, patients and staff have been forced to flee the European Gaza Hospital. Many have made it to Nasser Hospital.

Doctors Without Borders is now sounding the alarm about the situation. The lack of medical equipment is acute and patients risk being left without life-saving medical care.

Children on the floor and chairs

The number of patients increases every day, which means that all departments in the hospital are overcrowded. The pediatric ward has 56 beds, but on July 3 the influx was over 100 patients. In recent days, the orthopedic department has seen the number of patients double.

“We have children lying on the floor. There are no more mattresses and no more beds, so patients lie on blankets in corridors and sit on chairs,” says MSF nurse Cristina Roldán in a press release.

“The team has put up nails on the walls so that we can hang drips and medicine for the patients,” she states.

Months without deliveries

While the number of patients is increasing, the hospital is running out of fuel. Nearby field hospitals have their medical equipment sterilized at Nasser Hospital, and if the power goes out due to fuel shortages, sterilization becomes almost impossible – which would also stop care at field hospitals in the area.

According to Doctors Without Borders, Israel has prevented trucks with medical supplies from crossing the border into Gaza. The organization has not received any deliveries since the end of April, they say.

Since Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, more than 38,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to health authorities in the Hamas-controlled area.